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Do Spanish speakers use the word "Tada!" or is there another, better one? I am particularly interested in Mexican Spanish. You use it when something is transformed or revealed. For example, when you reveal an unexpected gift, or when someone enters the kitchen you have unexpectedly cleaned.

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    In Colombia and some places in Latin America we say ¡Tarán! and I'm not sure but I think I heard ¡Presto!
    – Felipe Sierra
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 14:16
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    Don't know how common it is or where exactly it is used but the word voilà from French might be heard as well sometimes.
    – Nicholas J.
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 16:23

5 Answers 5

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For these cases in Spain we normally say... (hover over the block text to see it!)

¡Tachán!

You may hear it with a very long "a", as in "Tacháááááááán".
Since it is an onomatopoeia, it is not included in the RAE, so the source for the answer is my own memories together with this discussion in WordReference.

In Latin America apparently they use other variants:

¡Ta-tán!

or

¡Ta-rán!

The last is the one used in Mexico, as indicated by Flxtr in comments.

See other onomatopoeias in Wikilengua or Fundéu.

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    The last one is the one we use most in Colombia. @fedorqui, nice formatting. Very appropriate for this question.
    – DGaleano
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 17:01
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    The last one "Ta-ran!" is what I've heard in a video.
    – B. Clay Shannon-B. Crow Raven
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 21:26
  • Any reasons why using spoiler tags? Is there some one who could get spoiled by that words? 0o
    – Zaibis
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 11:14
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    @Zaibis well it is just part of the joke, to illustrate how tachán can occur.
    – fedorqui
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 11:16
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    Well, OP is interested in Mexican Spanish, so, I think with "¡Ta-rán!" would be enough, I'm Mexican and this is the expression we use, but is good to know how the expression works for other countries :)
    – Phi
    Commented Feb 7, 2017 at 23:34
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At least in Mexico it would probably would be ¡Tadá!, ¡Tarán! or ¡Tará!. Since it is not an official word, but a colloquialism, I guess it might change among regions.

http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/tar%C3%A1-tar%C3%A1n.2819479/?hl=es

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    In Mexico, would that be written ¡Ta-rán! with the accent over the a, like in the example above?
    – user10986
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 18:18
  • Thanks for the remark! According to what I know and the info I have recollected, it is ¡Tarán! We don't make a separation with the hyphen and if it had the hyphen it probably wouldn't be accentuated since it's a monosyllable and monosyllables mostly don't follow the accentuation rules but it depends on what it implies (like "tu" and "tú").
    – Antonio López Ruiz
    Commented Jun 29, 2016 at 18:25
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Sorry if my example is very similar, it is what would be used in Chile: ¡Charáaah!.

I think in the written language is a bit confusing. I would prefer a simple ¡Sorpresa!.

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  • I like ¡Sorpresa! That might be the best way to go. (It's for a novel.)
    – user10986
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 2:39
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According to Capitan Calzoncillos ("Captain Underpants"), it's "Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta chaaaaah!"

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In Mexico you say simply "tantán". You will not find it on any dictionary though. It is very smart from you to be interested in Mexican Spanish since it is the BEST Spanish out there. Your best source is Mexican TV shows from the early 90s and earlier. Back then, writers really cared about the language and very few mistakes were made. Nowadays TV shows are plagued with terrible errors. Still, it is much better than in any other Hispanic country, including Spain.

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  • What is your source for such statement?
    – fedorqui
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 6:31
  • I lived in Mexico many many years.
    – Cain Nuke
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 10:10
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    Still, the hermeneutical comment it is much better than in any other Hispanic country, including Spain seems to be quite personal-based to me : )
    – fedorqui
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 10:12
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    I am not taking it in any way, I am just asking for sources for your answer. Your last comment seems to be a good one, so you may want to edit your answer to incorporate them. Regarding differences throughout countries, I have heard often that Spanish from Colombia is the best spoken (Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Spanish writer). Spanish from Spain may sound quite serious in Latin America, so I do understand people there preferring the Mexican when watching TV.
    – fedorqui
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 10:21
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    The argument "what I say is true because I have a degree in X" is just falacious. See Argument from authority or Argumentum ad verecundiam. It is better if you say that what you affirm is just your point of view, there's nothing wrong with that if you don't have sources for your affirmation.
    – Charlie
    Commented Jun 30, 2016 at 13:09

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